Kind of tough to imagine anyone but Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as the leads in "Brokeback Mountain" with Ang Lee directing. But, if director Gus Van Sant had his way, he would have been behind the camera with Matt Damon and Joaquin Pheonix as the two cowboys in love.
In the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, Damon confesses it is a regret of his:
“... Years ago, [Good Will Hunting director] Gus Van Sant wanted to do it with me and Joaquin Phoenix. But I was on my way to Italy to do "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and then "All the Pretty Horses." And Gus wanted to do "Brokeback" right after. And I was like, ‘Gus, I’m going to do a gay movie, then a cowboy movie. I can’t follow it up with a gay-cowboy movie!”[Laughs]